Sparkling wine is produced using, as a starting material, wine which has been sterilized (hereinafter "basic wine"). Yeast is added along with saccharose (hereinafter "filling dosage") to the basic wine. Thereafter, under a pressure seal, the basic wine undergoes secondary fermentation. The dissolved constituents of the yeast are contained in the resulting crude sparkling wine. The insoluble fractions are separated from the crude sparkling wine and saccharose, and optionally other additives (hereinafter "dispatch dosage"), are added so as to obtain the sparkling wine.
In the above-described process, as soon as all of the initially added saccharose is consumed, secondary fermentation is terminated. The yeast cells slowly die and their soluble constituents become dissolved in the resulting crude sparkling wine as a result of autolysis. These constituents are desired in fine sparkling wines because they improve the aroma and/or the sparkle of the wine. Heretofore, in order to substantially dissolve these constituents, the crude sparkling wine is stored for a long time, i.e., several months, at the end of the secondary fermentation. This storage time can be shortened in the case of tank fermentation, i.e., the dissolving of the constituents can be sped up by stirring.
DE-OS 28 22 906 teaches, that in the above-described process, a yeast autolyzate can be added to the basic wine in order to shorten the storage time. The yeast autolyzate is added in solution throughout the entire secondary fermentation and is subjected to metabolysis by the fermentation yeast. However, this method is not adequate since it does not sufficiently shorten the storage time required to substantially dissolve the yeast constituents.